Patents Examined by Shih-Wen Hsieh
  • Image forming apparatus
    Patent number: 7497545
    Abstract: There is disclosed a compact and inexpensive image forming apparatus which includes a head for discharging inks, an ink supply path fixed in parallel to the head to supply the inks to the head, a recording medium conveying section arranged to face the head, thereby conveying a recording medium, and a maintenance mechanism arranged above the recording medium conveying section and below the ink supply path to perform maintenance of the head during image nonformation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2009
    Assignee: Olympus Corporation
    Inventor: Masanobu Shimizu
  • Nozzle cleaning method, nozzle cleaning device, liquid ejection apparatus, printing apparatus and computer-readable medium
    Patent number: 7497547
    Abstract: A nozzle cleaning method has the following steps (A) to (C). (A) A first determination step of determining whether or not there is ejection of a liquid from a liquid ejection nozzle targeted for testing. (B) A second determination step of determining whether or not there is an abnormality in an ejection direction or an ejection condition of a liquid from the liquid ejection nozzle. (C) A cleaning step in which a cleaning process that is different is executed between when a determination is made that there is no ejection of the liquid in the first determination step and when a determination is made that there is an abnormality in the ejection direction or the ejection condition of the liquid in the second determination step on the liquid ejection nozzle that is subjected to determination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2009
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Shinya Komatsu
  • Inkjet recording apparatus
    Patent number: 7497548
    Abstract: The inkjet recording apparatus has a capping device for cleaning the inkjet nozzles. The capping device has an interconnected cell type porous elastic member housed in a recessed area which is connected to suction. During the cleaning operation, the porous elastic member is pressed against the surface of the nozzle such that the porous member is compressed. Suction is then started in the recess area and ink is drawn from the nozzle. By compressing the porous member, the recess area is decreased in size and good negative pressure can be obtained so as to the draw the ink from the nozzle. When the pressure ceases and the porous member is expanded, and ink is drawn from the surface of the nozzle member and soaks into the porous member. Suction is then again started to remove the ink from the recess and from the porous member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2009
    Assignee: Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc.
    Inventor: Takeshi Yamazaki
  • Maintenance/recovery device for liquid discharge device and image forming device
    Patent number: 7494205
    Abstract: In a maintenance/recovery device for a liquid discharging device, a cap member covers a surface of a nozzle of a liquid discharging head, the liquid discharging head discharging a droplet of a recording liquid from the nozzle. A resilient contact member is provided in the cap member to come in contact with the surface of the nozzle. A recess-forming member is providing in the cap member to form a recess for receiving the recording liquid attracted from the nozzle. The contact member and the recess-forming member are integrally formed by molding, the recess-forming member is made of a resin material containing a water repellent agent, and the recess-forming member is provided to have at least two slopes being inclined toward an outlet at a bottom of the recess.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2009
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd
    Inventors: Masanori Kusunoki, Toshitaka Osanai, Noboru Hiramatsu, Michio Yamamoto
  • Maintenance apparatus of recording head
    Patent number: 7490921
    Abstract: A maintenance apparatus of a recording head is appressed against a head main body of a recording head during cleaning processing, and an air current which performs suction and removal flows in a direction crossing an ink discharge direction and travels along a nozzle surface to suck foreign particles or a residual ink.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2009
    Assignee: Olympus Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroshi Hashi, Masanobu Shimizu
  • Image forming apparatus
    Patent number: 7488050
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a conveyance unit, nozzles, a recording unit, a cap unit, a first moving mechanism, a first ink receiving unit and a second moving mechanism. The first moving mechanism reciprocates the cap unit between a capping position and a non-capping position apart. The first ink receiving unit includes an ink receiving region larger than a region that all the nozzles occupy. The second moving mechanism reciprocates the first ink receiving unit between an ink receiving position and an ink non-receiving position. When the first ink receiving unit is located at the ink non-receiving position, at least a part of the first ink receiving unit overlaps the cap unit located at the non-capping position. When the cap unit is located at the capping position, the first ink receiving unit is located at the ink receiving position and overlaps the entire cap unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2009
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Osamu Takagi
  • Ink jet applicator
    Patent number: 7481512
    Abstract: An ink jet applicator includes an ink jet head having nozzle via which liquid droplets are jetted, a seal mechanism sealing the nozzle using a pressure vessel; a solution supply mechanism supplying a solution to the nozzle at a predetermined pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2009
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Hiroshi Koizumi, Atsushi Kinase, Taketo Shiba
  • Printhead cleaning device for a large printer
    Patent number: 7475962
    Abstract: A printhead cleaning device for a large printer provided at a lateral side of a printing rail of the printer, it comprises a base and a swinging platform, wherein the base has four peripheral sides forming a receiving space, the swinging platform is movably and pivotally connected to the base; the swinging platform has thereon a plurality of elongate holes, so that the residual ink on the printhead set can be collected in the receiving space of the base through the elongate holes, every two elongate holes have therebetween a scraper in the shape of a taper sectionally and made of soft material, so that when the base is pushed upwards by a pushing device to its predetermined position, the scrapers on the swinging platform can have scraping actions against the moving printhead of the printhead set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2009
    Assignee: Great Computer Corporation
    Inventor: Jin-Sheng Lai
  • Printhead assembly for maintaining a printhead in an operable condition
    Patent number: 7472981
    Abstract: A printhead assembly for maintaining a printhead in an operable condition is provided. The assembly comprises a printhead having an ink ejection face and a printhead maintenance station. The printhead maintenance station comprises an elastically deformable pad having a contact surface for sealing engagement with the face, and an engagement mechanism for moving the pad between a first position in which the contact surface is sealingly engaged with the face and a second position in which the contact surface is disengaged from the face. The printhead assembly is configured such that the contact surface is progressively contacted with the face during sealing engagement and peeled away from the face during disengagement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2009
    Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd
    Inventors: John Douglas Peter Morgan, Kia Silverbrook, Christopher Hibbard, Bruce Gordon Holyoake
  • Ink-jet head and connecting structure
    Patent number: 7469994
    Abstract: An ink-jet head has a flexible printed circuit and a head main body, and further has a reinforcement that is located between drive-signal terminals arranged adjacent to one another and a constant-potential-signal terminal. The drive-signal terminals and the constant-potential-signal terminal are formed on a terminal-formed face of an energy applier included in the head main body. The flexible printed circuit has an electrode-formed face on which a constant-potential-signal electrode to be bonded to the constant-potential-signal terminal with a metal bond and drive-signal electrodes to be bonded to the drive-signal terminals with a metal bond. The reinforcement is in contact with and interposed between the terminal-formed face and the electrode-formed face so that the terminal-formed face and the electrode-formed face are spaced apart from each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2008
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yasuhiro Kato
  • MST device for attachment to an adhesive surface
    Patent number: 7469987
    Abstract: A micro-systems technology (MST) device for attachment to an adhesive surface. The MST device has an attachment surface for abutting the adhesive surfaces, a first fluid conduit connected to a first aperture in the attachment surface and, a recess in the attachment surface adjacent the first aperture to hold adhesive displaced from between the attachment surface and the adhesive surface when the MST device is attached such that displaced adhesive does not block fluid flow in the first conduit. By profiling the attachment surface so there is a recess next to the first aperture, there is less risk that adhesive will be squeezed into the conduit and impair fluid flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2008
    Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd
    Inventors: Kia Silverbrook, David Charles Psaila, Garry Raymond Jackson, Akira Nakazawa, Jonathan Mark Bulman, Jan Waszczuk
  • Printhead maintenance system comprising face flooding system and ink transport assembly
    Patent number: 7467846
    Abstract: A printhead maintenance system for maintaining a printhead in an operable condition is provided. The maintenance system comprises: (a) a printhead having an ink ejection face; (b) an ink supply system comprising a face flooding system for flooding ink from the printhead onto the face; and (c) an ink transport assembly comprising: a transfer surface for receiving flooded ink from the face and a transport mechanism for feeding the transfer surface through a transfer zone and away from the printhead. The transfer zone is adjacent to and spaced apart from the face.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2008
    Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd
    Inventors: Vesa Karppinen, Jonathan Mark Bulman, Kia Silverbrook
  • Modular printhead assembly with capping devices
    Patent number: 7465012
    Abstract: A printhead assembly includes an elongate carrier. A plurality of printhead modules is serially positioned on the carrier. Each printhead module includes an ink supply arrangement mounted on the carrier and a printhead chip mounted on the ink supply arrangement to be fed with ink from the ink supply arrangement. A plurality of capping devices is mounted on the carrier. Each capping device is displaceable with respect to the carrier between an operative position in which the capping device caps the printhead chip and an inoperative position in which the printhead chip is uncapped.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2008
    Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd
    Inventors: Kia Silverbrook, Tobin Allen King
  • Printhead capping mechanism including blotting assembly
    Patent number: 7465013
    Abstract: A printer has a printhead and a capping mechanism adapted to cap the printhead. The capping mechanism supports a blotting assembly and is connected to a powered roller of a print media feed mechanism. Initial operation of the print media feed mechanism causes the capping mechanism to move out of a capping position of the printhead.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2008
    Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd
    Inventors: Kia Silverbrook, Simon Robert Walmsley
  • Printer with ink cartridge for engaging printhead cartridge and printer body
    Patent number: 7465045
    Abstract: An inkjet printer that has a printer body, a printhead cartridge for installation in the printer body, and an ink cartridge for supplying the printhead cartridge with ink. The ink cartridge has formations to engage both the printer body and the printhead cartridge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2008
    Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd
    Inventors: Kia Silverbrook, Norman Michael Berry, Akira Nakazawa, Paul Ian Mackey, Garry Raymond Jackson
  • Inkjet recording apparatus
    Patent number: 7461915
    Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus includes a recording head, a carriage, a movable body, a moving mechanism, and a relative position controller. The recording head is provided with a sub-tank and an ejection nozzle. The sub-tank includes an air discharging unit having a communication hole that allows communication of the interior of the sub-tank with atmospheric air. The movable body includes an open-close switching member so as to switch a state of the communication hole corresponding to a change of the relative position of a nozzle surface with respect to the movable body. The relative position controller controls the moving mechanism for moving the movable body and switches the state of the inkjet recording apparatus into a recording mode, a discharge performance recovery mode and an air discharge mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2008
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuji Koga, Takatoshi Takemoto
  • Micro-electromechanical integrated circuit device for fluid ejection
    Patent number: 7461918
    Abstract: A micro-electromechanical integrated circuit device includes a substrate that defines a plurality of fluid inlet channels. Drive circuitry is positioned on the substrate. A plurality of fixed nozzle chamber walls is positioned on the substrate about respective fluid inlet channels. A plurality of movable nozzle chamber structures is positioned over respective nozzle chamber walls so that nozzle chambers are defined by the nozzle chamber walls and the nozzle chamber structures. The nozzle chambers are in fluid communication with respective fluid inlet channels and the nozzle chamber structures each define a fluid ejection port. The device includes a plurality of elongate actuators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2008
    Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd
    Inventor: Kia Silverbrook
  • Inkjet-recording-head flushing method
    Patent number: 7455386
    Abstract: A method of flushing a nozzle of an inkjet recording head so as to recover an ink-ejection performance of the nozzle. The nozzle ejects, in a recording mode of the inkjet recording head, a plurality of droplets of an ink to record dot images, such that each of the droplets has an arbitrary one of a plurality of volumes. The flushing method includes causing the inkjet recording head to perform, for a first time, a plurality of continuous flushing actions in each of which the nozzle attempts to eject a droplet of the ink whose volume is larger than a smallest volume of the plurality of volumes, and causing the inkjet recording head to repeat, at least one more time, the plurality of continuous flushing actions while interposing a pause time between each pair of consecutive times out of the first time and said at least one more time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2008
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masaharu Ito
  • Liquid discharging apparatus, and method of performing maintenance on liquid discharging head
    Patent number: 7455384
    Abstract: A liquid discharging apparatus includes a table that transfers a workpiece in a first scan direction; a carriage that has a liquid discharging head for discharging liquid droplets on the workpiece, and moves along a guide member in a second scan direction; one or more maintainers that are used to perform maintenance such as cleaning of the liquid discharging head; and transfer units that the transfers the maintainers to a standby position in which the maintainers does not interfere with the table to be scanned, and a maintenance position in which the maintenance of the liquid discharging head is performed. When the maintainers are positioned at the standby position, at least a part of the maintainers is positioned in a workpiece maximum scanning range, which is a maximum moving range of the workpiece in the first scan direction during the scanning of the workpiece on the table.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2008
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Mutsuto Tezuka
  • Printhead maintenance assembly having maintenance belt
    Patent number: 7452052
    Abstract: A printhead maintenance assembly for maintaining a printhead in an operable condition is provided. The maintenance assembly comprises: (i) a printhead maintenance station comprising an elastically deformable maintenance belt having a contact surface for sealing engagement with an ink ejection face of the printhead, the contact surface being sloped with respect to the face, and a conveyor mechanism for conveying the belt past the face; and (ii) an engagement mechanism for reciprocally moving the belt between a first position in which part of the contact surface is sealingly engaged with the face and a second position in which the contact surface is disengaged from the face.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2008
    Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd
    Inventors: Kia Silverbrook, Norman Micheal Berry, Akira Nakazawa, Paul Ian Mackey, Bruce Gordon Holyoake, Garry Raymond Jackson, John Douglas Peter Morgan